June 16th, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
$2.7 Billion LBJ Express Financing Completed Ahead of Schedule
Visionary project will expand capacity, relieve traffic delays and improve roadway safety in nation's fourth most congested region
DALLAS - June 17, 2010 - LBJ Infrastructure Group, LLC (LBJIG) announced today that financing for the LBJ Express project has been completed ahead of schedule to begin construction and operation of this anticipated roadway. The company is expected to administratively complete the process over the upcoming days.
This achievement marks a major milestone in the long-awaited re-development and expansion of a major traffic corridor in the Dallas area - a project that will help reduce travel delays, enhance safety, provide mobility choices and help reduce the carbon footprint often associated with idling traffic. The project is also expected to create thousands of new jobs. Click Here for the complete news release . . . .
June 16th, 2010
NDNA Transportation Update
LBJ Reconstruction:
The LBJ Reconstruction is now being called the “LBJ Express” project. This will be the name the project uses for publications and communications.
The overall contract has been signed with Cintra, USA. However, the contractor must secure all of the finances before work can begin. The “financial close” is expected to be finalized by this summer (2010). The current cost is estimated to be $2.7 Billion. In the mean time, the contractor is hiring engineers and working on the “build plan” which is expected to take approximately 6 months to complete. It is estimated there will be 1,500 people working on the project. Needless to say with 1,500 workers, a lot of planning has to be done to coordinate each part of the road construction. Once the “build plan” is completed, it will be submitted to TxDot. When approved by TxDOT a “Notice to Proceed” will be issued and the 5 year clock will start and construction will begin. The current plan is to begin construction in early 2011 with a substantial completion date of mid-2016.
Once construction begins, something will be happening everywhere in the corridor 24/7.
A “Storefront” office, with the location and date of operation to be announced soon, is being established to provide assistance to the public and homeowners associations. The storefront staff available to work with homeowner groups and answer questions and work on issues the homeowner group may have. Also, the LBJ Express Project Office is now located at 4100 McEwen. Later this year the public will be able to sign up for text or e-mail alerts about construction delays and etc. Watch the news for this announcement.
If you would like to take an artist designed virtual drive of the new LBJ Express Project it is available on YouTube. The video is the proposed representation and not necessarily the exact highway. The virtual drive is from I-35 to Central Expressway.
The link is: http://www.youtube.com/user/lbjexpress
Some LBJ Express Facts:
Length:
I-635 (LBJ) from Luna Road to US 75: approximately 11 miles
I-35E from south of Loop 12 to south of I-635 (LBJ): approximately 4 miles
Managed lanes (each direction)
I-635 (LBJ): Three lanes below surface level and median area
1-35E: Two-lane elevated ramps from Loop 12 to I-635 (LBJ)
Estimated initial travel cost on the managed Lanes: 15 cents per mile (low traffic), 55 cents per mile (peak hour).
For additional information, please feel free to contact:
Jack Antebi
LBJ Mobility Coordinator
972-994-0034
Or visit www.newlbj.com
Frankford Road widening project:
Frankford Road east from Coit to the Richardson city limits, near Waterview, is being widened beginning in September. Frankford Rd will be 6 lanes from Coit to Highland Springs Retirement Community and 4 lanes to Richardson city limits.
The estimated time to complete the project is one year. The City of Dallas Transportation Department is responsible for this project.
Cotton Belt Rail Corridor
The Cotton Belt Rail Corridor which is the link from Plano to Ft Worth is still in the works. The corridor is 62 miles long and would provide access to DFW Airport. As a point of reference, The Cotton Belt is the railroad track running east and west north of McCallum and south of Frankford Rd. Proposed stops in our area for the Cotton Belt are: UTD, Renner Village, Preston Road, and Addision Transit Center.
Currently North Central Texas Council of Governments is requesting bids for private funding of the Cotton Belt Rail. The Public Private Partnership is a new approach and may offer the best opportunity to gain funding for this project so the rail line could be in operation by 2013.
District 12 Councilperson Ron Natinsky, who is the new chair of the Regional Transportation Council, has been very involved with this project and has an excellent write-up in the “District News” section of his web site:
http://www.ronnatinsky.com/district12_news.asp
Addition information is available from the NCTCG web site:
www.nctcog.org/trans/spd/transitrail/CtnBilt
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